PokerStars has announced Isaac Haxton as the newest member of its vaunted Team PokerStars Online, according to a video first released on the official Stars blog this morning.
The announcement was confirmed with a brief statement on Haxton’s own Twitter blog. Haxton had been one of the most frequently mentioned players suggested as the newest Team PokerStars Online pro, with his identity temporarily withheld as part of a Stars-run promotion.
Haxton, who was widely known under his original “philivey2694” handle, is a New York City native who repatriated to Malta in 2011 to continue his online career, joining a wave of several hundred of America’s best online poker players who now live outside the States.
Haxton, who once was known as much for his long, wild hair (since trimmed) as his outstanding play, first made headlines with a runner-up showing to Ryan Daut in the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and followed that up with another second-place showing in the WSOP’s 2009 “40th Anniversary” $40,000 buy-in tourney.
Combined, those two events represent almost half of Haxton’s more than $4 million in live tournament career earnings.
Haxton, who now lives in Malta, is as feared at the cash tables as he is in big tournaments. He’s competed against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom in three of Stars’ popular “SuperStar Showdown” matchups, winning twice. And has also appeared on the Stars-sponsored “The Big Game” with other prominent pros.
Said Haxton, regarding his signing, “I want to make Supernova Elite in 2012 playing mostly heads-up Sit & Go’s. I also want to learn Pot Limit Omaha and play some heads-up No Limit Hold’em cash matches.”
